Back when I was a practicing journalist, I was taught about the two-source rule. The idea was, that by getting viewpoints from both sides of the story a reporter could get a more complete picture of what was happening than by just talking to one person.
Of course, for that to work a reporter would have to begin to work on a story without any preconceived notions of what that story might be. This was a rudimentary concept, one that decent reporters learned about shortly after the six w's and the inverted pyramid style of writing.
The version of journalism practiced at FOX News does not seem to address these basic journalism standards. Consider this internal memo issued by the network following the mid-term elections last week. News Vice-President John Moody included these pointers:
"Let`s be on the lookout for any statements from the Iraqi insurgents who must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled Congress."
People can read the entire post at Arianna Huffington's blog.
To say that you're on the lookout for a particular outcome to a story is the complete antitheses of objective journalism - let alone "Fair and Balanced" coverage by FOX News.
Years ago, newspaper man Finley Peter Dunne said that a newspaper's goals were to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." The new memo shows that FOX News' goals are not so altruistic. Instead, Rupert Murdock's cable TV news channel functions mostly as a house organ for conservative Republican's interest.
Not until they learn the meaning of real objectivity will they be able to claim that they are a real news organization.